It was around dawn.

I was sleep-deprived and slightly dehydrated. After driving aimlessly around the country for several hours, I knew I had lost it. But I was staring at the papers in my hand. Those fateful papers as they shined like proof for me.

It was all her fault.

And my foolish sex-driven mate was just her pawn.

"I'm going to make your life hell. Both of you." I swore again. The promise of the other day's coming back.

*knock knock*

There was a knock on my car door. I lifted my head, feeling the dizziness as I stared.

"What are you doing there? Why did you call me?" Zade asked. He needed to know too.

'No. Not this soon. We have to wait for the final act to bring Karen down.' Rexi mumbled in my head. Wiping my crazy tears away, I opened the car door for Zade who climbed in.

"Tell me what's going on with you. I've never seen you like this and it's weirding me out. Did you see a ghost?" Zade made me chuckle. With him, life felt much better and I didn't know why. I didn't have hope, because Zade already had two chances at life with a mate and failed twice, miserably.

"In fact, I did. I'm haunted by the ghost of revenge, Zade. Exorcise me." His eyebrows furrowed.

"Tell me what happened. Right now." His voice was soft but firm. And I opened up to him, revealing whatever was necessary and hiding what should be hidden.

"That's awful, Nova. I'm so sorry." I sniffled harder.

"I've started my revenge. But I'm still their Luna. The people and pups of my pack believe I've gone on a trip. I don't want to return to that toxic family, Zade. What do I do...?" I cried.

"It sucks that Karen helped Nate cheat on you. And we both know Nate is going to drown himself in guilt if he doesn't find you right away. Janet and Karen know you've gone missing. Nate doesn't. So here's what you're going to do." Saying, Zade and I made an elaborative plan on what needed to be done.

"...Alright then. I'll attend the annual Luna meeting and do what I must. Starting with a rejection." I said.

***

Zade and I parted ways at the highway, two days ago. He's beaten into my head that revenge isn't best served cold if it's not planned properly. And there I was.

Upon my return, Janet grabbed my arm and asked on the porch,

"Why did you return? You want to curse us with your infertility more!?" I stared at her, irony was lingering in her home, in her blood indeed. I smirked and yanked my arm out of her grip.

"Watch what your mouth runs, Janet. Maybe the words will come back to bite you in the ass." Saying, I watched her shocked expression return. She slapped me across the face.

"How dare you..." She growled. I was hurt, but I felt nothing besides the physical pain. That's when I realized my heart had grown cold as ice.

Hearing the commotion, lights were turned on but no one came out of their rooms. Glaring at Janet, I walked right in as she mumbled bad things about me, behind my back. I held myself from revealing anything.

The next day, the morning before Luna Assemblage, Janet barged into the storage room where I was given space to sleep. My study was being renovated. Nails and wood chips covered the surface when I went.

"What are you doing here? You're not welcome back." Karen said. I ignored her and turned away to sleep more. Suddenly, a bucket full of ice-cold water was splashed onto me.

I was shivering. Rexi was ready to bite Karen's throat off.

"Get the hell up and start preparing for the meeting. You pissed off Janet because she had made up a story of your missing. You shouldn't have come back." I scoffed hearing Karen. I wiped the water off my face and stood up. Karen tensed when I passed by. Her bravado crumbled.

"Tell Janet I'll stop being Luna soon. I'll fulfil her wish to continue being the rotten, corrupted Luna of this pack." I said in a low tone. Karen walked away but started berating me openly to passersby after a distance.

Out of nowhere, Nate barged into the dark storage room and held my face. He kissed me fervently, feverishly. I felt like my lips would be ripped off. That's how harsh he was kissing me.

Once his grip loosened, I pushed him so hard that he lay flat on the ground, flying a small distance.

"Thank you for coming back! Prince Zyke was commencing this meeting as well, but his mother told him she'd be representing instead! If you came with me, all will be good!" I scoffed at Nate after he spoke. He stood up grunting. His back fell on a nail which dug into his flesh.

He pulled it out and with crazy eyes...smeared the blood over my cheek with the nail.

"Good that you've returned on your own, Nova. I knew where to find you but I held myself. Because you need me and you still love me. We are mates, after all."

My courage shrivelled. Nate has never stared at me like this. He looked like he lost it. My lower lip wobbled in fear. It caught his attention.

"Don't worry, Nova. I can never hurt you. I love you way too much. But understand this. What I've done was done for the pack." I was rendered speechless. I was too afraid to respond other than a nod.

"Good girl." He kissed the crown of my head and left the storage room. Coming out after crying my eyes out, I asked if I could use Beta Ray's room to clean myself up. He looked uncomfortable and rejected the idea. He came closer, after seeing no one was spying on us in the hallway and whispered,

"Mother Luna Janet is keeping an eye on me. I'm sorry, Luna." He said and pulled away. He bowed and left with regret in his heart. He's a good man, but he was just a powerless beta in my wicked dramatic life.

In the end, Mia let me get dressed and practically forced me to wear her dress for the Luna Assemblage. The evening has to be grand. Word has spread that Prince Zyke will be attending with Queen Delores this evening, for the Assemblage. I couldn't have been more happier.

"This looks amazing," I said in amusement. Mia had a nice collection. One she lent to me was golden caped, Dior's prime collection.

"You can make heck ton of money when you're an aspiring head of healers for a pack, I guess." She said as I hugged her.

"I will save you, Mia. Wait for me." She nodded on my shoulder.

And then, it was time to implement my master plan.

The evening was vibrant. Luna's Assemblage was all about prosperity and discussions about happiness of packs.

As much as I loathed it, Janet, Karen and even Nate accompanied me to the Assemblage.

It made my plan tad bit difficult. But I pulled some threads secretly and made sure none of the three saw me walking into the Prince's chambers that evening after the meeting.

However, as I walked out of Prince Zyke's chambers after having a 'delightful' talk about my pack's future, I bumped into Nate.

I almost jumped at his appearance. His gaze on me was skeptical.

"What were you doing there?" Nate inquired harshly.

"What do you think I was doing there?" I asked. Nate's jealousy was off the roof and I could smell it in his aura. He was doing an awful job hiding his jealousy.

"I don't know, mate with him for dethroning my mother as Luna?" The words flew out of his mouth. My blood was boiling, my smile long gone.

"What do you fucking mean?" I asked harshly. Nate straightened up.

"I'm sorry. That was...irrational of me. I felt threatened." He said.

"Threatened that I would cheat on you too?" My question baffled him.

"N-No. I know you wouldn't. You're my mate." He said affirmatively and stared at the mate mark on my neck. My first and last. That's what he thought.

"You're insecure, aren't you?" I was pushing the nail deeper. Nate's eyes wandered to the passersby. He gulped harshly before replying,

"I'm not. I'm confident in our love." He said.

"Is that why you've been fucking Karen behind my back every time she came to visit? For six years?" The revelation finally struck.

"Baby. She was in heat and didn't have anyone around. You know how busy your best friend - Zade - could be. She was lonely, and I was helping her out—" He said, but I lifted my hand to cut him off.

"Enough is enough. You're pathetic." I said and tried to walk away.

What I wanted to do was done. The first and most important step - Talking to Prince Zyke - was done. I had nothing to do with Nate or Graymoon Pack anymore.

But Nate clutched my wrist and spun me back to himself.

"Nova. Listen. I want to reconcile with you. Tomorrow is Karen and my first child's 100th day. I want you to be the Godmother, as promised. Please. Be my mate and attend the party, as my mate." He asked. To me, it sounded like begging.

He was begging me to remind myself what they did, 100 days ago. They fucked all night on my birthday and they want me to remember the trauma forever.

Nate's expectant eyes pleaded with me. He was hoping I would reject the invitation so he could beg and plead more. Instead, I took my chances and said,

"Okay. I'll come as the Godmother. I'm still Luna, after all." I said. I never knew lying through my teeth would invoke a whole new level of anger in me. I hated myself for sure.

"Ah, you're the best." Delighted, Nate hugged me tightly. He was feeling my body, running his hands on my back and I felt something on my abdomen.

Well, I'll just have to put up with him for one more day. Just one more. After that is all war.

The next day at Graymoon Packhouse...

Karen's 100 days of pregnancy was celebrated no less than a bloody festival. While all members of my pack enjoyed booze and dances with festive lights filling up the sky, the ceremony only reminded me of my doom. The beginning of my doom. The day it all went downhill.

Karen and Nate were matching in a white dress and suit. It looked like their wedding. Almost everyone wore white that day, except for me.

I showed up in a bold black dress that hugged my figure and showed some extra skin. I was responsible for turning heads so hard that they cracked that evening.

The men of my own pack started salivating at my appearance. Did they mistake me for someone like Karen? I don't go spreading legs for them, unlike her.

Nate turned at my appearance. I walked down to the open ground decorated beautifully with 999 roses. The bouquet was as big as me. It made my shoulder hurt with small, unattended thorns pricking. But it was a small price to pay.

Nate's smile dropped when he saw me. He got down the stage and left Karen with an unsettling smile. I just knew the party was going to be amazing from that moment.

"Nova. What are you doing?" Nate asked and tried to take the huge bouquet off of me. It hurt even more as I tried to move it because the thorns impaled the mark on my neck. In other words, I was hurting Nate too, as his neck and shoulder were burning along with mine.

"What are you even wearing? Cover yourself properly. You're the Luna." Nate was taking his coat off for me. I barely exposed a part of my cleavage and wore sleeveless.

I looked at Karen. She was just as shameless. She was wearing sheer clothing, a white collar necklace that made her look like a whore. I scoffed in my head.

This is how men like Nate interpret women's clothing - it literally depends on what they mean to him.

As his mate, Nate wanted me to be diligent. And as his girlfriend, Nate wanted Karen to show herself off to the crowd. He wanted to let them know that one of us was good as a wife and the other was good in bed.

Nate repulses me so much.

Just as Nate was trying to take the bouquet from me, he frowned.

"You couldn't have gotten any other kind? Karen is allergic to roses, Nova. You knew that." Nate accused as he took the bouquet.

However, Janet snatched the thick bouquet from his hands and threw it to the ground. The roses splashed across the floor.

Janet lifted her leg and stomped on the roses with her boots. The petals smashed against the dirt. I lifted my leg to look at Janet who couldn't stop herself from embarrassing me.

"You steal everything. The chance of my pack having an heir, my son's true happiness, my daughter-in-law's happiness...everything." I quickly knew Janet wasn't mentioning me as her daughter-in-law. It was Karen.

"What do you want from us!? You're a witch! Everywhere you go, happiness just vaporizes from around you! You killed your own parents and you know that!" Janet spat.

The crowd gasped.

Watching Janet act this way was new. The level-headed woman finally uncoiled and burst into a naked wire of emotions. And somehow, I ignited that in her.

I was, yet again, made the epicentre of Janet's anger.

"You don't mean that, Janet." I retorted.

"Oh! We all know you sent your parents out to get a gift for your birthday. They didn't want to go, Nova! You killed them! They died because you urged them to be fed to the rogues in the middle of the night!" She screamed. Nate stared at my balled-up fists. He knew I could hurt Janet if I wanted to. I didn't care if she was my Luna or Nate's mother.

It took tremendous energy to hold myself back. I was shaking. Rexi was already clawing at my head to be let out.

"You seem to be too proud of your 'daughter in law' Janet. Let me show you something." Saying, I walked up to Karen. She seemed uncomfortable. She feigned being scared of me, acting as if I'd hurt her.

"Tell them, Karen.

Tell them who's the real father of this child."

Because the last time I checked, I was not barren but my mate was. Nate was impotent.

Then who made the baby Karen's carrying?